Trailer Review: Non-Stop (2014)

Liam Neeson’s late emergence as an action hero was a surprising but welcome transition for the actor. He excelled in Taken and also gave a decent performance in Unknown which convinced everyone he was a convincing leading man. Neeson’s action characters are similar to guys like John McClane and Harry Callahan, they are often put into increasingly unpleasant situations and are forced to take action and become reluctant heroes.

In Non-Stop, a new action film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra( the director of Unknown),Neeson plays a U.S. federal Air Marshall called Bill Marks. While on a flight from New York to London, Marks receives a bunch of text messages telling him a passenger will be killed every twenty minutes unless $150 million is transferred into a secret bank account. When the cops start investigating the plot they learn the secret account is actually in Marks’ name and he becomes their prime suspect. Marks quickly realizes the hijacker is a passenger on-board the plane and that he is the victim of an elaborate frame-up. To make matters worse, a bomb is also found on the plane with a timer. Bill Marks will need to use all his skills to solve this mystery and clear his name.

Non-Stop is similar to Unknown in some ways as it involves the protagonist trying to solve a mystery, it then combines the mystery elements with action like Unknown did which is a good formula. Some viewers may also find the film similar to Passenger 57 which put Wesley Snipes in a similar situation. Bad guys should’ve learned not to mess with Neeson by now but they keep on trying to hassle the man with disastrous results. His action hero has been plagued by crooks at home in Taken, is embroiled in a foreign plot in Unknown and now villains are trying to attack him on a plane. The poor guy can’t catch a break!

The trailer is very entertaining which is to be expected, the film knows what its strong points are and makes the most of them. Neeson gets plenty of screen-time and his co-star Julianne Moore also appears in a few scenes. Moore plays another passenger on the plane and it is unclear if she is involved in the hijacking plot. Anson Mount, Scoot McNairy and Linus Roach also appear in the film. There is a nice feeling of increasing tension in the trailer as Marks is blamed for the hijacking and doesn’t know who to trust, the news quickly spreads across America as the FBI, White House and Interpol get involved. The trailer doesn’t have that many action scenes which gives the tension and drama some time to build up.

Non-Stop adheres to a formula but it has all the right ingredients for an enjoyable action film. Fans can watch it when the film is released on February 28th, check out the trailer and share your thoughts.